BOATS AND BOAT-BUILDING. 79 



I shall first describe a boat such as built for 

 comparatively large streams (the Illinois River, for 

 instance), capable, when managed by an expe- 

 rienced person, of withstanding any weather to 

 which the Western hunter is likely to be ex- 

 posed — such as I myself have made use of more 

 than any others, and which, I am satisfied, is- the 

 best shape for' general use on Western waters, 

 and not too large for novices anywhere. 



Now, the building of a paddle-boat is not so 

 simple an undertaking as many of my readers 

 may suppose ; in fact, it is almost an art, and 

 simply giving the dimensions of the finished boat 

 proves of little value, for, not knowing how to 

 set about the building of it, the novice is 

 as far from its possession as though he had 

 never heard of it. I shall therefore en- 

 deavor to so explain the. modus operandi 

 as to enable any one having a sufficient know- 

 ledge of the use of tools to build the boat as 

 it should be; and, to make my instructions more 

 clear, shall refer my readers to the drawing on 

 the following page. 



The materials — clear white pine for sides, 

 seats, bulkhead, and bottom, and straight- 

 grained white oak for stem, stern-post, ribs, 



